Byakuya's figure suddenly appeared one kilometer outside the Town of Sasori.
He gasped for breath a few times. The chakra consumption of the Flying Thunder God Jutsu was indeed massive; it had nearly exhausted the chakra he had just refined.
Without delay, he continued refining chakra and used Storm Style Body Flicker to accelerate repeatedly, crossing into the Land of Wind.
Who knew what other tricks Sasori of the Red Sand had up his sleeve? Running away was the wisest stratagem.
He ran until daybreak. The landscape shifted abruptly from sparsely vegetated wilderness to pure desert.
The wind picked up, whipping sand against his mask.
Pakura managed to keep her skin hydrated and glowing in this environment—her natural endowment was truly excellent.
Byakuya thought to himself, As expected of the "First Back of the Ninja World," she's got some skills.
He just didn't know how much she knew about the Town of Sasori. Did she have ulterior motives for having him meet her contact there?
Borrowing a knife to kill? Byakuya felt it was unnecessary. If Pakura had suddenly attacked him while he was signing the contract with Tagorihime, she would have certainly caught him off guard, although Byakuya had prepared for such a scenario.
The Village of Sand Trees was backed by an oasis. When he saw that patch of green, he could hardly conceal his shock.
He drew his katana.
Turned around.
Swung the blade.
Accurately knocking down over a dozen kunai.
The kunai fell silently onto the sand. Under the intense sunlight, they gleamed with a sickening purple light.
Poisonous.
Although he was no longer afraid of most poisons in the ninja world after eating the Snake Fruit from Tagorihime, there was no guarantee this poison wasn't among the exceptions.
Byakuya stared at Sasori of the Red Sand, who had tracked him down using some unknown method.
Sasori was still wearing the loose black cloak.
Byakuya was also wearing a black trench coat. If not for the Shuten-doji mask, an outsider might think they were partners.
Sasori's tone actually carried a hint of appreciation. "A Leaf ninja deep in the Land of Wind. What mission did that cunning old fox Danzo Shimura send you on?
Let me guess. It shouldn't be to destroy the Sand Village; Danzo isn't that stupid. So, most likely, a Sand ninja has defected, and you're here to meet them. And this Sand ninja holds a high position in the village. Who could it be?
Rasa? He thinks he's the Kazekage now; he wouldn't cut himself off from the village like that.
Baki? He's Rasa's confidant, capable, and definitely a future leader of the Sand. He wouldn't turn traitor either.
Chiyo and Ebizo are even less likely. They'd rather commit suicide than surrender to the Leaf.
Yura? Heh, definitely not him.
Could it be Pakura? No, she gave up the Kazekage position for the sake of the Sand Village. How could she be stupid enough to become a Leaf spy?
I'm really curious about your mission. If you tell me, I'm willing to beat you half to death and then let you go. How about it?"
Byakuya glanced around out of the corner of his eye. Endless desert, no cover whatsoever.
He hadn't left any Flying Thunder God formulas ahead of time. To escape, his only option was to create distance and flee.
"How did you track me?"
Sasori pointed at Byakuya. "Your chakra. The wind in the desert told me where you were."
"Wind Style tracking jutsu?"
"A secret technique fusing Puppet Mastery and Wind Style. I developed it."
He saw Sasori's face clearly—a handsome youth with red hair and an indifferent expression, seemingly unchanging for ten thousand years.
"You turned yourself into a puppet," Byakuya said.
Sasori was surprised. "You really have heard of my deeds. It seems you also know who this is."
The Third Kazekage puppet was released from a scroll, floating in mid-air, staring at Byakuya with hollow eyes.
Suddenly, a strong wind blew across the desert, kicking up yellow sand that blinded the eyes.
When the sand settled slightly.
Sasori's figure was gone.
Appearing not far in front of Byakuya was his signature human puppet, Hiruko.
Hiruko not only concealed Sasori's true body but also enhanced his close-combat capabilities due to its hard material.
Byakuya immediately leaped to dodge.
The Kazekage puppet floated over, mechanically opening its mouth to spew Iron Sand.
"Magnet Style: Iron Sand Drizzle."
Although he avoided Hiruko's tail strike, a wave of fine Iron Sand needles rained down on his head.
Boom boom boom boom boom!!
Sand erupted into the sky.
And crashed back down heavily.
"Oh? Shadow Clone Jutsu? Kid, you use this jutsu developed by Tobirama Senju quite proficiently. Pity it's useless."
Sasori's voice came from inside Hiruko.
"Storm Style: Torrential Lightning."
Lightning surged like a rushing river toward the floating Kazekage puppet, then split into a wave rushing at Hiruko.
"Kekkei Genkai?"
"Watch this move. Thousand Hands Manipulation Force!"
The seals on the Kazekage puppet's left arm instantly summoned a thousand arms. The arms, equipped with mechanisms, blocked the Torrential Lightning while spraying poison mist and senbon needles at Byakuya.
Sasori maneuvered Hiruko to dodge the river of lightning with precision. Noticing the jutsu had tracking capabilities, he immediately used Hiruko's tail to collide with the Torrential Lightning.
Byakuya knocked down all the poison needles with his katana.
In the process, he accidentally inhaled two breaths of poison mist.
He felt nothing at all, just a fishy smell.
Retreat. Rapidly put distance between himself and Sasori.
Sasori didn't give him time to react. "Kid, you've got skills. No wonder Danzo Shimura let you execute a mission alone."
Two holes opened on Hiruko's back, firing a storm of poison needles. Simultaneously, the puppet's arms extended sharp metal blades, closing in under the cover of wind and sand.
Iron Sand drifted from the Kazekage puppet's mouth again, forming a rectangular block that flew high into the sky before crashing down towards Byakuya.
Byakuya immediately created two Shadow Clones. The left clone wielded a kunai to meet the poison needles, while the right clone attempted to entangle Hiruko.
The main body continued to retreat.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Kazekage puppet forming Iron Sand wings to fly over, along with the rectangular block crashing down from above.
"Water Style: Water Formation Wall."
He spat out a massive amount of water, spinning for protection. The sand kicked up by the wind mixed into the water, slightly slowing its rotation speed.
The rectangular block smashed into the Water Formation Wall. The unimaginable force was barely deflected, rolling aside.
Byakuya tasted sweetness in his throat. He forcefully swallowed the blood rising in his mouth and slammed both hands onto the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu."
Tagorihime, come out!
Suddenly, smoke billowed, and yellow sand flew everywhere.
Hiruko had dispatched the two Shadow Clones and was just about to cooperate with the Kazekage puppet to slice off Byakuya's arms with its metal blades...
After all, he hadn't extracted valuable intel from this masked brat yet, so Sasori didn't want him to die easily.
If the kid survived, Sasori would order him to crawl back to the Leaf and tell Danzo Shimura that he supported Danzo for Hokage—on the condition that Danzo provided him a hidden place in the Leaf to build a puppet lab.
Without warning, a blue-black snake tail swept across.
Hiruko was sent flying, tumbling across the ground.
The triangular snake head slammed into the Kazekage puppet, knocking it down next to Hiruko.
"Summoned a beast."
Sasori observed the blue-black giant snake from within Hiruko.
Scales like iron plates, layered upon each other. A terrifying, eerie snake head covered in wrinkled skin. Eyes like red-hot branding irons, with a gaze that was cold, vicious, and cunning.
"Byakuya, who is this? Are you hurt?"
Tagorihime's sweet voice echoed in his mind.
Byakuya stood panting on top of her head. "I'm fine. Run, quickly."
"Not going to fight him?"
"He'll chase us. We'll deal with it then."
"Okay. Tell me what you need me to do next."
"Thank you, Tagorihime."
"You're my good friend. No need for thanks."